Idong Ibok an 'unsung hero' in Spartans' victory

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--Michigan State coach Tom Izzo all but called it the greatest moment of Idong Ibok's career. To which the fifth-year, 6-foot-11 backup center all but said: You ain't seen nothing yet.At least Ibok hopes not, even though it's entirely possible he may not get another shot at a role as important as the one he played in Sunday's 74-66 victory over Illinois in Assembly Hall to claim a share of the Big Ten title. The Spartans' seven-point lead shrunk to nothing as 7-foot-1 sophomore center Mike Tisdale did heavy damage inside for the Illini. When Tisdale set up a three-point play while drawing a fourth foul on MSU center Goran Suton with 10:27 to play, Michigan State appeared to be in big trouble. Tisdale got to the line one more time and his two free throws cut MSU's lead to 56-53 with 8:51 left. After Illinois tied the score at 58-all with 7:19 to go, Izzo called timeout and put the seldom-used Ibok in for the first time since he played one minute in a loss at Purdue on Feb. 17. "That was a panic decision, to be honest with you," Izzo said. "We were out of sync and they kept going to (Tisdale), and it seemed like every time it went in, it was a foul. So we decided to go with a bigger guy. "The unsung hero for us was Idong Ibok." Kalin Lucas put the Spartans ahead, 60-58, with a layup with 4:43 to play, and Ibok preserved it with the biggest block of his career when he snuffed out Tisdale's shot from the left baseline. Tisdale didn't score the rest of way against Ibok. "He hasn't played in about (five) games, but he really is a good defensive player," Izzo said. "He's a big reason why we won a share of the championship, and I hope that's a bright spot for him too." Ibok, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, agreed that it is, but he wasn't counting himself out in Tuesday's game at Indiana, next Sunday at home against Purdue or in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. "I don't want to limit it to just this," he said. "We still have a couple games left and hopefully a lot more to come in March and early April." Six of Ibok's 55 career blocks have come in 20 games this season. "Being a part of a championship is gratifying, but it can still be better than this," Ibok said. Because of complex visa issues, if Ibok were to return to Lagos, he wouldn't be able to return to the United States in the foreseeable future. Likewise, his mother, Kate, has never seen him play for MSU in person because of her inability to get a visa. Ibok's father died when he was a child. Ibok said an aunt in Ann Arbor will be with him for the Senior Day ceremony before playing Purdue, and he also hopes a cousin living in California can get the weekend off of work to attend. "That's one of the kids you just gotta say you love," Izzo said. "He's a graduate student (pursuing a Master's degree in advertising), he hasn't been home in six years, he just never complains." Morgan shows more energy Izzo also had great affection for junior forward Raymar Morgan, who had his best game since coming down with the flu before a 63-57 home victory against Illinois on Jan. 17. His 14 points were the most since he scored 17 at Penn State on Jan. 14, and his 22 minutes were the most since the first meeting with the Illini. "You can see why we missed Raymar Morgan so much," Izzo said. "Ray was panting a few times, but during timeouts I told him, 'You're playing.' At the end we were struggling, but we made a lot of adjustments and Raymar Morgan gives you the ability to do that because of the way he plays. He has the ability to guard point guards, forwards and centers." Morgan, who also struggled with walking pneumonia and mononucleosis for more than a month, played with newfound energy. "It's all coming back," Morgan said. "I felt like I had to man-up and push myself because this was huge. We've been looking forward to this for a long time, and our dream is finally coming true." Not finished The Spartans clinched only a share of their first title since 2001, which is why they were relatively subdued as the left the court in Assembly Hall. "We're still on a mission," Morgan said. "We still have a lot to prove and we want to win it outright. But there was a lot of jumping around (in the locker room). It was a good moment." One more win by Michigan State (23-5, 13-3 Big Ten) or one more loss by second-place Purdue (22-7, 11-5) will give the Spartans' their first outright championship since 1999. Michigan State visits last-place Indiana on Tuesday and the Boilermakers host Northwestern on Wednesday. MSU and Purdue will meet in the regular-season finale that could have championship implications Sunday at Breslin Center. Walton shines Senior guard Travis Walton had arguably his best game ever as a Spartan. He played lock-down defense and after making one of his three steals, but before flying out of bounds, made a mid-air lead pass to Lucas, who scored to give MSU a 43-34 lead early in the second half. Walton, who spent time at the point, had five assists and no turnovers improving his ratio in the last five games to 22-to-3. Another big win MSU picked up a nation-leading 11th victory against teams ranked in RPI top 50. The Spartans came into the game tied with Connecticut. MSU improved to 21-0 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.